Benjamin Kayser is a former French Rugby international with a 16-year-long career (he played 47 games with the French National Team, and hundreds in the French and English championships).
Benjamin is a Co-founder and Partner at Teampact Ventures, a Venture Capital fund that specializes in human capital.
Benjamin is a charismatic and inspiring character. He is living proof that the reconversion of former world-class athletes into Venture Capital investors is possible and can be very successful.
- We discuss WHY top athletes and Venture Capitalists aren't that different. The elements of competition, unstoppable drive, and performance are central to both.
- We dig into Teampact's model and their People Score to assess startup teams before making investments and WHY it might very well be the future of VC
- And we explore the role that TOP athletes can play after retiring from their busy sports careers and continue being SUPER helpful to society
Listen and Learn
- Why Benjamin picked Venture Capital after retiring from the world of Rugby (3:00)
- Why he went to Oxford to legitimize his business (4:00)
- Always bet on the jockey, don’t bet on the horse (4:30)
- Description of Teampact Ventures: sectors, geography, ticket size (5:30)
- Why athletes want to invest in startups today and why the trend is here to stay (7:00)
- How sportsmen are the entrepreneurs of the real world (8:30)
- Who better than sport-winning dynasties to help break impostor syndrome and help entrepreneurs grow (11:00)
- 70% of the Olympic athletes live under the minimum wage (12:30)
- How Teampact wants to build a bridge between elite sport and elite tech (13:30)
- Athletes can help solve the major human-level issues: the complexity of recruiting, employee well-being, and creating a sense of belonging (16:00)
- Sport-winning dynasties are built on team resilience, team culture, and team chemistry (16:30)
- Teampact’s secret sauce to take the best out of sport and help startups: Score, Boost, Match (18:30)
- The intentionality of the founders is critical for team culture coaching to work (24:00)
- How do they match athletes with projects (26:00)
- Why professional athletes should stand up more and push the climate movement (30:00)
- Rapid fire round (35:00)
- Benjamin’s #1 recommended book (35:01)
Show Links
- Benjamin Kayser
- Nikola Karabatic
- Teampact Ventures
- Sorare giving a board seat to Serena Wiliams
- Sarah Jallot: Partner at Teampact Ventures
- The rise of Superman by Steven Kotler
- Legacy by James Kerr
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